Heart of the Frozen Flame
by Lexville
Summary: A twist on the Tenrou Arc, Natsu knows more than he lets on about the happenings around Fairy Tail. Join him, and the rest of fairy tail, as he explores the dangerous road of living elements, and many other challenges along the way. A NaMe Fanfic, w/ a Stronger&Smarter Natsu - UNDER REVISION, PROBABLY REWRITE -
1. Ch1 - Memories

Heart of the Frozen Flame

"Natsu" – Speaking, Normal language

" **Natsu** " – Spells

" _Natsu"_ – Memories

" _ **Natsu**_ " – Speaking, Draconic language

'Natsu' – Translation

' _Natsu'_ – Thoughts/Telepathy

 **Chapter 1 - Memories**

 **\- Natsu's Shack, 4 AM -**

" _Na-chan, are you ready? It's almost time!"_

Natsu awoke suddenly, in a cold sweat. That had been the 3rd time this week he had that dream, and it never got any less creepy. It felt so real, but at the same time, it felt like a memory.

Natsu looked at the clock on his wall above his door, and shuddered. He hasn't been able to get a full night's sleep since the Daphne Drama that Gray caused, and Edolas had taken a lot out of him. He was amazed he could defeat the Dorma Anim with the help of Wendy and Gajeel.

"Today is the day that Gramps announces the candidates for the S class exam, I can't get sloppy thanks to lack of sleep." Natsu said to himself. "I wonder when the last primal slayer will show up… We've already got Wendy and Gajeel, although it seems they've not got their memories back yet." Natsu looked over to Happy, who was still asleep. "I should probably go and train myself in my Dragon Words, I've not used them in such a long time… I might need them for the S class Exam."

Natsu got out of bed, completed his normal morning routine, ate breakfast and went to his private training grounds. It was a large clearing, with a stream running along the side of it. He started chanting in the Draconic language as he got into a meditation stance in the centre of the clearing. A black leather-bound book with a red trim appeared in front of him as he was chanting, hovering in his lap.

" **Dovah Rot: Yolos Kopraan** " 'Dragon Word: Flame Body' Natsu chanted. The book flew open and flicked through the pages at an alarming speed. Once the page settled, his body caught fire, turning his skin into living flame. This spell allowed Natsu to change his body structure to become any shape or size, and magnifies his dragon slayer abilities tenfold. He practiced his Fire Dragon's: Roar, Iron fist, Wing Attack, Talon and Claw until sunrise. He then cancelled his Flame Body spell, and got back into his meditation pose again. The book hovered in his lap once more.

" **Dovah Rot: Amativ Tiid Koraav** " 'Dragon Word: Forward Time Sight' Natsu chanted, as his vision went black. ' _This ability is a lot like Carla's Premonitions, although mine are forced unlike hers. Makes me more reliable, although I need to let her take the credit. I never would be able to explain that I could see the future, and the very explicit conditions that it has…'_ He thought to himself, as his vision slowly returned to him. He was in the guild hall, watching everyone celebrating. He then was on Tenrou Island, running into a cave.

Everything faded to black once again, then a series of faces appeared before him. First was Gildarts, then Wendy, Gajeel, and then, unexpectedly, a girl appeared. Her eyes were Electric blue, and Bubblegum Pink hair. Her eyes changed to a dull green, as if trying to suppress something, before disappearing entirely, and Natsu's vision was returned to normal. He was back in the clearing. Her image lingered in his head, wondering who she was and why she was important enough for her to be shown in his premonitions. _'Oh well, I'm sure if she's that important she'll show up sooner rather than later… I best be on the lookout though.'_ Natsu thought as he was walking back to his house.

It was clearly still early morning, however there were signs of life in the town. "Ne, Happy, Wanna go to the guild? I wanna get there before Gramps announces the S class Candidates!" he shouted, waking up Happy who was sleep talking about Carla and Fish.

 **\- Time skip -**

Everyone was here. It was time. Makarov had jumped onto the stage, and had shouted for everyone's attention. The guild went quiet, all eyes went to the guild master. Everyone waited with baited breath, as they all waited for Makarov to call out the names of the participants.

"I will now announce the participants for the S class Trials, held on Tenrou Island. These trials will cover the course of one week, and you will face many challenges." Makarov shouted, grinning.

"The people going to become S class Participants are;" the suspense was thick in the air, as if smeared on by a toddler trying to make a chocolate spread sandwich.

"Gray Fullbuster!" "It's about time, Beat that, Shit-for-flames"

"Cana Alberona!" "Well, another year to try my hardest I guess"

"Freed Justine!" "I will not disappoint my Laxus-sama. Only then can I present myself to him."

"Juvia Lockster!" "Maybe Gray-sama will want me if I become S class…"

"Elfman Strauss!" "BEING S CLASS IS MAN!"

"Levy Mcgarden!" "Eh?!"

"Mest Gryder!" "No surprise there."

"And last but certainly not least, the person we all expected to become a participant, Natsu Dragneel!" "Yosh! I'm all fired up!"

"You are all to be at Hargeon port by the first day of autumn and we leave at Midday. You are allowed to bring a companion with you, although they cannot be from outside the guild or already S class."

Everyone had already started pairing up, Gray with Loke, Cana with Lucy, Freed with Bickslow, Juvia with Lisanna, Elfman with Evergreen, Levy with Gajeel, Mest with Wendy, and Natsu with Happy. People wondered why Natsu was bringing Happy, knowing full well that he couldn't be of any help in a fight, however they didn't know.

"Ne, Wendy, Gajeel. I need to speak to you two, outside." Natsu shouted, over the guild brawl that he created himself. Wendy nodded and Gajeel sighed gruffly, and both made their way to the door, not knowing what was about to happen, and how drastically it would change them.

The guild looked at him incredulously, thinking that Natsu would never leave in the middle of a brawl. "Hey, flame breath, why'd you send them outside?! We're in the middle of a fight here!" Natsu punched Gray in the face, knocking him into Juvia, winked at the pair and said "Duty calls, cya!" before sprinting outside so Erza couldn't catch him for hitting Gray.

"Salamander, why'd ya call us out here, if this is about the S class exam, then Girlie and I aren't going easy on you, just because you're the alpha." Gajeel huffed, caution in his eyes. Natsu's response was not one he was expecting.

" _How much do you know about Primal Slayers, Black Steel?"_


	2. Ch2 - Revelations

Heart of the Frozen Flame

I don't own any of the characters, or the language for the Dragon Words. I only own the Plot to this story.

"Natsu" – Speaking, Normal language

" **Natsu** " – Spells

" _Natsu"_ – Memories

" _ **Natsu**_ " – Speaking, Draconic language

'Natsu' – Translation

' _Natsu'_ – Thoughts/Telepathy

 **Chapter 2 – Revelations**

" _How much do you know about Primal Slayers, Black Steel?_ "

The silence that permeated the air was deafening. It was clear neither Gajeel or Wendy had any clue on what Natsu was talking about.

"Primal Slayers? What crap are you talking about now Salamander, as far as I know, there are only Dragon Slayers on earthland. Are you saying there are more kinds?" Gajeel mumbled, only to be met by a nod by Natsu.

"Come with me, you two. Its time I showed you something. We'll talk on the way there, but this is a dragon slayer only conversation. Nobody else, apart from our Exceeds, can know what I am about to tell you. Not yet, anyway." And with that, Natsu started walking away from the guild, seemingly in a random direction.

Gajeel and Wendy caught up to Natsu, who began talking in the lowest tone he could, so only the other Slayers could hear him.

"A Primal slayer is a Dragon slayer who controls one of the Four primal elements of the world. Such elements are Fire, Ice, Earth and Air. They are taught by the Royal dragons of their element, and are one of the strongest types of Slayer there is. For instance, a Primal Slayer, imbued with his element through the Dragon Words and Dragon Force, can easily overpower a God slayer, or even a Devil Slayer, although I've never personally come across either."

"Are you saying you're a Primal Slayer, Natsu-nii?" Wendy asked apprehensively, wanting to know the answer but worried about the answer. Wendy saw Natsu as family, as an older brother. She knew that there was nothing that Natsu wouldn't do for her. She looked at Natsu, and saw his eyes glazed over.

"Sorry Wendy, I was talking to Happy. I asked him to get Carla and Lilly over to my usual training spot to show them something important, you learn a few things if you spend time around Warren. You asked if I was a primal slayer, correct?"

"Hai, Natsu-Nii. You seem to know an awful lot about these types of slayers."

"Ah! We're here. The perfect place to show you two what I'm talking about." Natsu said, seemingly ignoring Wendy's question.

"Sit down, anywhere you feel most comfortable in this clearing. Make sure there is enough space for you to start training in though, as this will be where I will train you properly for the next month. There are dark times looming ahead, and we need to be ready."

The ominous feeling Gajeel and Wendy got from Natsu was unlike anything they had ever felt from him before. They thought they knew everything about their Alpha, although it seemed they knew nothing at all.

"Your first lesson should be about history, I guess." Gajeel scoffed at the thought of being taught by Natsu" A Primal Slayer, or otherwise known as a Primal Dragon Slayer, is a birthright. It is not given to us through our Dragon Parents, however they do play an instrumental role in achieving our potential. However, there is another type of magic that stems from our own magic that you can unlock right now without needing to be a Primal Slayer, although this privilege is only given to the Primal Slayers. It is called **Dragon Words** , or **Dovah Rot** in the dragon tongue. There aren't many words that I can teach you now, as I only know the Fire related spells, and a few others. However, I will teach you how to adapt your elements to the **Dovah Rot**. Get into a mediation position, any you feel most comfortable with."

Gajeel immediately scoffed. "Why would you help us Salamander, this makes absolutely no sense. You said we're going to need this power, but this makes no sense. For what? What are we going to be fighting that our Dragon Slayer Magic is going to be ineffective?"

"Would you like to see firsthand what the **Dovah Rot** can do for you, Black Steel? I would be more than happy to show you. Do I need to prove to you again that I am the alpha of our pack? Besides, I never said that our magic is ineffective. The Dragon Words are more like temporary enhancements, instead of a flat-out ability boost."

Natsu got into a meditation position as the Exceeds came into the clearing. Almost immediately, Happy went to sit by a log near the stream, and beckoned Carla and Lilly over.

"What is the meaning of this Tom-cat, I don't have all day. Does Natsu want to show us something?" Carla huffed, looking at Wendy who is on the other side of the clearing.

"I don't understand myself, but Natsu has been acting strange recently. I didn't even know he knew telepathy magic. I think h-" he was cut off by a book appearing in Natsu's lap. "I've never seen that before…"

Natsu closed his eyes. "Black Steel, we're going to fight. It'll be a short one, and then you'll hopefully understand why I brought you out here."

A book appeared in Natsu's lap, which started floating. It was the same book as before, a Black leather-bound book with red trim. Everyone looked at the book with curiosity. The book quickly opened as Natsu started speaking again, this time in a gravelly tone which made all of the cat's quiver in fear, as they've never heard Natsu with such a voice before.

" **Dovah Rot: Yolos Kopraan** " 'Dragon Word: Flame Body' Natsu chanted, as his body turned alight in a golden flame, with an orange core. "Come, Black Steel. I'll show you the power of the Dragon Words"

Gajeel rushed at Natsu from the other side of the clearing. "Tch, don't make me laugh. **Iron Dragon Hard Fist**!" Gajeel yelled, as he tried to punch Natsu in the face. To everyone's surprise, the fist went through Natsu's head, and the metal melted on contact with his fire.

" **My turn"** Natsu said, in a draconic voice. " **Fire Dragons Iron Fist** " The flaming fist contacted Gajeels core, and he went flying across the clearing into a tree which cracked down the middle, splitting open.

Natsu deactivated his **Flame Body** spell, and walked over to Gajeel. "Wendy, can you heal his wounds? He is going to need to be in perfect shape to teach him the Dragon Words."

"…Hai, Natsu-nii" Wendy said, still shocked that Natsu was able to KO Gajeel with only one punch.

"Would you like to learn the Dragon Words, Wendy? To control the Primal force of air to help you defeat your enemies, and empower your healing spells. I can teach you how to use **Dovah Rot: Su Kopraan** 'Dragon Word, Air Body'."

"Why are you doing this, Natsu-nii. It's not that I don't want to learn more, and grow stronger, but why me?" At this point, Wendy had healed Gajeel's wounds and he had woken up, both sat in front of Natsu. He didn't have an answer for Wendy's question it seemed.

"Well Wendy, I guess it's time to remember who you are. You too, Gajeel."

The black book appeared in Natsu's hand this time, instead of in his lap. "This book is the Primal Grimoire. It details everything about Dragon Slayers, Dragons, and Primal Slayers."

Natsu paused, and had a look of concentration on his face for a few seconds.

" **Dovah Rot: Onikaan** " 'Dragon Word: Wisdom' as soon as Natsu spoke, Tendrils of solid Air and Stone appeared from the book. Two more Books appeared in the clearing now, One with a brown trim and one with a sky-blue trim.

The Exceeds were stunned, that they could understand what Natsu had said and that there were now three books. Wendy and Gajeel were the most shocked, realizing that these books were for them.

"Before you accept these books, I've gotta tell you something important that you may not like. Once you accept these Primal Grimoires, you will remember everything about your old lives, before you became Wendy the Sky Maiden and Black Steel Gajeel. Are you ready to accept this?" Natsu said, with another change in character, becoming completely serious.

"Hai, Natsu-nii." Wendy muttered, unknowingly reaching out for her Primal Grimoire

"Fine, salamander. But if this is just a trick, I'm going to pummel you." Gajeel threatened, as he also reached out for his Grimoire.

As soon as the pair touched the Books, a large gust of wind enveloped the clearing, and the ground started shaking. It seemed like the world was about to end for the Exceeds, however Natsu's grimoire opened and he shouted " **Dovah Rot: Spaan** " 'Dragon Word: Protection' and they were encased in a dome of fire, and everything inside the barrier settled down back to the way it was beforehand.

After a few minutes of heavy tremors and forceful gusts of wind billowing around, the ground and air went silent, as if commanded to stop.

"… I remember… everything…"

"… Hah, so that's how it is…"

" _Welcome back to the world, Primal Dragon Slayers, Wendy and Gajeel."_

 **-Authors Note-**

Yo, Sorry about not putting one of these at the end of the last chapter, I kinda forgot to. As you might have guessed, the Dragon Words are in the dragon language based in Skyrim. Regarding my other story that I posted a while ago, - Slayers' Pride - I kinda lost the character sheet for the OC's that I made for it, so I'll need to redo all of that before I start that story back up. I had a lot of college work to do inbetween then and now, so I've not had a chance to do so yet. Expect an update fairly soon though.


	3. Ch3 - Knowledge

Heart of the Frozen Flame

I don't own any of the characters, or the language for the Dragon Words. I only own the Plot to this story.

"Natsu" – Speaking, Normal language

" **Natsu** " – Spells

" _Natsu"_ – Memories

" _ **Natsu**_ " – Speaking, Draconic language

'Natsu' – Translation

' _Natsu'_ – Thoughts/Telepathy

 **Chapter 3 – Knowledge**

" _Welcome back to the world, Primal Dragon Slayers, Wendy and Gajeel."_

"Salamander, what'dya do to me? I feel heavier and rougher." Gajeel scowled, waiting for a reply.

"Your first element was Earth, and you turned said earth into iron. You've done this for so long that you couldn't remember how to turn yourself from iron into earth I guess. Try a roar, you'll be surprised."

Moments later, the clearing looked like there had just been a mudslide.

"Well I'll be damned…" Gajeel said, in awe of what he had just done and the fact that it felt at least three times stronger than his **Iron dragons roar**.

"Well, now that you can do that, I guess we should start on dragon words, as I can't teach you about your own element. Your Primal Grimoire will have all your spells you can learn, as well as useful Dragon Words. Just note that not every word will work with each other. Choose your word wisely, as you can only use one word until you cancel it." As he was talking, the fire around the Exceed dissipated, and the cats used their **Aera** to fly to their respective slayers, except Happy, as he launched himself at Natsu, landing right between his shoulder blades.

"Natsu! I thought the world was gonna end! Than- huh?" he paused as he saw a marking of a flame in-between his best friends shoulders that would have normally been hidden by his scarf.

"Hey Natsu, what's this?" Happy asked, referring to said mark.

"It's a Badge of Office, let's leave it at that. Although saying that, Wendy and Gajeel will have one too, as though just less… pronounced."

The other two were curious as to what he meant, and coerced him into explaining himself further.

"My mark is proof that I am of House Dragneel, all of the Slayers will have such a mark if they were raised by a dragon. It will be the mark the Slayer's mate will possess on their body to let other slayers know that the person is taken. Hopefully you both know that slayers take on the dragons mating habits, such as only being able to have one mate, regardless of if the other person loves them or not." Natsu paused so this information can sink in.

"Saying that, Levy should have hers fairly soon, eh Black Steel? It goes without saying, but if you hurt her, be prepared to feel a dragon's wrath. She's like family." Gajeel went red.

"You think I'd willingly hurt my own mate? That's low, Salamander. Even for you."

"Speaking of which, Natsu-nii, do you know who your mate is? Everyone is betting you'll be with Lucy by the end of the year, others are betting Lisanna or Mira, I even saw bets on Erza!" Wendy teased

"No, no, no, and hell no! Lucy is like a sister or even a daughter to me. There was a time I liked Lisanna, but I didn't want to start anything in case my inner dragon rejected her. The claiming of a mate process can have… dire effects of the person being rejected. Mira is nice and all, but Laxus has claimed her already, and Erza would try and kill me if I even brought up the idea." Natsu frowned. He'd met a lot of people and thought he had already met his mate, but nobody sprung to mind.

"Really Natsu-nii? You've not met your mate yet? I wonder if you ever will…" Wendy muttered.

"I guess this would be a great time to teach you a non-combat Dragon Word. It's sort of like Carla's premonitions, although it is forced, and has multiple rules you have to follow when using it, otherwise your mind could be ripped apart and you'll forget everything you've ever done." He paused to look at the faces of everyone. Carla had her eyebrows furrowed. "The word is **Amativ Tiid Koraav** , meaning Forward Time Sight, allowing you to see into the future. You need to have an idea of the topic you want to see in the first place, otherwise you'll just see a random future event. You also have to have a calm state of mind, and if you are interrupted you'll break the spell while incomplete. So, don't ever use it while there is a battle going on."

He waited for a minute to carry on, waiting for confirmation on whether or not these two would learn the word. "I'm going to demonstrate it here. Since we were on the topic of dragon mates, I'll see if I can see the face of my own mate, or at least something about them." Wendy nodded while Carla looked intrigued. She had never met another person who could see into the future.

Natsu got into a meditative stance and closed his eyes. The Primal Grimoire appeared in front of him again and sprung to life. It landed on a page that looked a lot like his mark on the base of his neck. Natsu shouted " **Dovah Rot: Amativ Tiid Koraav** " and his vision went black. As he did this, the space around Natsu went completely still. He thought about who his mate could be, and his vision turned scarlet, then white, then settled on a pink colour. He could see streaks of ice blue on the pink background. He then saw a face, who had bubblegum pink hair and icy blue eyes. She turned to look to someone, who looked very similar to how Gray described Ur.

His vision went black again, and he saw something he didn't expect to. An island, with a large tree in the middle. Two people from his past, and a dragon. He had recognised this place, it was where he and his brother met his now sister-in-law. He knew that he had a brother, who's personal history was steeped in horrific deeds. He knew his name too. He knew all about his curse, and his attempt to create demons to kill their master. However, all attempts but one failed. He created a demon based off Natsu, who got out of control and had to be sealed away by his foster father.

' _I guess that's where we'll meet, but why on Tenrou?'_ Natsu thought to himself _'Unless we're meeting at the S class trials, there's no reason for her to be there…'_

His vision went black once again, and as he was about to open his eyes, he saw her face again, but this time, it was slightly different. He saw her as if she was about to leave somewhere. She turned around, and walked into the distance, but not without displaying the crest on her cape. It was the stamp of Grimoire Heart.

His blood went cold, wondering why he was shown this girl, and this stamp. He opened his eyes to see Wendy right in his face, with a perplexed look on her face. It took a few seconds for her to register, but when she did realise she stumbled backwards and tripped over a root on the floor, landing on her backside.

"Ah! Natsu-nii… Sorry about getting right in your face, I was wondering why you weren't replying to us…"

"Salamander, didya know that we could see all that you could for those minutes? Who were they, and what was that place?"

"That, Gajeel, was tenrou island. The first girl I think is my mate, I don't know though. The black-haired girl looks a lot like what Gray used to describe his mentor as, and that place is where I think we'll be going for the S class trials…"

"Anyway, we should probably get some training done. I doubt that dragon was there for nothing!"

Wendy did a double take, remembering the black and blue dragon that showed up in Natsu's future sight spell.

"Wait, Natsu-nii, you're saying you're going to train us to kill a dragon? We've got about two weeks, what can you do that our dragons couldn't in all the time they spent with us?" Gajeel looked suspiciously at Natsu. "Well, salamander?"

"I've got a few tricks. Fortunately, we only need to work on the power behind your attacks, and the precision of said attacks. In these next two weeks, you will have complete mastery over your Dragon words, and your elemental form from said dragon words." He paused to look at the grins on the other slayers faces. "Depending on how quickly you master these, we could move onto dragon force, but I'd be learning along with you, as I've only ever done it twice… and that was with outside help. Once by eating Etherion, the other from eating Jellal's flame to take down Zero." Natsu grinned at the thought of learning to master Dragon Force and be able to use it at will.

 **-Time skip, Day of the 1** **st** **S class trial-**

In the past two weeks, Natsu had taught the pair of newly crowned primal slayers. Gajeel had learnt how to turn his new Earthen form into an Iron form, as he preferred the feel of the element. Wendy had learnt how to become more self-confident, and had learned to gauge how much magic she is using for a single spell, and how to control said amount. None of them had been able to get control over Dragon force though, which disappointed Natsu as he wanted to learn how to the most.

Wendy also found out that her Air form allowed objects to pass through her without harming her like Natsu could do with his form, so she became one of the toughest sparring opponents either of the other slayers had to date. Nobody but the exceed and the slayers knew of this though.

Everyone was on the boat looking at Tenrou island, the place where someone was going to be crowned S rank.

"Do you all see the beach with the smoke coming off it?" Makarov started, causing all of the talk on the boat to stop "In a few minutes, the boat will stop. You'll have to head there for your first challenge. There are 8 routes available to you, one is a path that leads straight to passing. One leads to Erza, one to Mira, one to Gildarts. The other sets are battle routes… You'll find out what those are soon." He chuckled when he saw Natsu's eyes light up.

" _Let the S class trial… START"_


	4. Ch4 - Appearances

Heart of the Frozen Flame

I don't own any of the characters, or the language for the Dragon Words. I only own the Plot to this story.

"Natsu" – Speaking, Normal language

" **Natsu** " – Spells

" _Natsu"_ – Memories

" _ **Natsu**_ " – Speaking, Draconic language

'Natsu' – Translation

' _Natsu'_ – Thoughts/Telepathy

 **Chapter 4– Appearances**

" _Let the S class trial… START"_

Everyone had left the boat and made it to the beach, Happy and Natsu being 4th to the beach. Freed and Bickslow had locked everyone on the ship for five minutes, which Levy rewrote to allow herself and Gajeel through. Evergreen tried to do the same, but found that Levy had wrote the runes to dissipate in one minute instead of five.

' _Classic Levy'_ Natsu thought as he and Happy started flying through the air to get to the beach. He sniffed the air as he and Happy touched down, trying to find Gildarts. He made it look like he was looking for Erza though, as Happy would've gone ballistic if he thought he'd go for gildarts.

"So which route are you going through Natsu? Three have already been taken…"

"E, for Erza obviously. I take her in a fight now, you've seen the results of my training!"

They sprinted down the cave, trying to find someone so they can pass this stage of the trial. They came to a very large opening, where the cave extended in every direction, suspiciously making a circle in the middle of the room.

There were some fireflies in the cave, lighting up the room. There was someone standing firm, Happy recognized the face first.

"Natsu… I don't think you're moving to S class this year…"

"Why Happy, who's there?"

A booming voice bounced off the walls, making Happy quiver in fear

"Sorry kid, luck just ain't on your side. This is your dead end."

It was Gildarts, Natsu's nose was true to its word, once again. It had never failed him before, and it wouldn't start now. Natsu smirked.

"Alternatively, Gildarts. You might be surprised at what I've got in store for you…" Natsu grinned as a book appeared in his hands. This made Gildarts raise an eyebrow, at first glance believing to have never seen a book like that before, and he had travelled the world. Natsu heard a shifting sound behind him, signaling Happy was doing something. He turned to see him dragging the backpack back to the mouth of the cave.

"Hey Happy, what are you doing?"

"Well" Happy started, "I figured we've already lost, so I was getting ready to go home."

Natsu scoffed at this. "Have some faith in me little buddy, you might be surprised as well." _'I just need to test the waters a bit, so he thinks that my base power is my limit…'_

Natsu cloaked his fists in an orange flame. "Get ready, cause I'm gonna hit you with everything I've got at once!" _'Just not right now though…'_ He thought, smirking.

"Wait, Natsu. I'm not ready yet, besides, I want to ask you about that book! Natsu! WAIT."

Natsu slammed his fist into Gildarts palm laughing. "I'll tell you about the book if you use 100%!" Gildarts magic reacted to Natsu's touch. It spiraled outwards, creating a cross out of pure white energy that soon exploded.

As the dust settled, the orange haired individual looked at the crater in confusion. _'I didn't put that much magic into my attack…'_ Happy was first to speak.

"I can't believe you killed him, this was only supposed to be a test."

The cave around them echoed with Natsu's voice, which surprised Gildarts as to how deep it was.

"You wanna bet Happy? Gildarts didn't even put 50% into that, any more and it might have actually scratched me." He fell back down to the ground, a few feet away from Gildarts.

"Did you use your fire to launch yourself that high?" He questioned, impressed that Natsu had the sense to move out of the way of the blast. _'I bet if this was when we last saw each other, Natsu wouldn't have moved and would have just been launched into the air by the blast'_

"Yeah, I might have. Although the way I did it is not how you're picturing it…" As he said this, the book opened on it's own. "You asked about my book, right? How about I show you… the power of the Primals."

The word _Primals_ shook Gildarts to his core. He was probably one of the only ones who knew the stories, apart from the high ends of the council and the wizard saints. ' _So how does Natsu know about them…?'_ He only had the time to wonder about this briefly.

"This book is one of the four Primal Grimoires." Natsu paused for a second, unnaturally relishing in the shock that appeared on Gildart's face. "Oh, so you know of it?" He laughed. "I guess when you travel the world, you hear many things…"

"Now hold on a minute. How on Earthland do you know about the Primals? I've only heard stories and yet, you've got one of the four grimoires?" Gildarts was mortified. If Natsu was given the Grimoire by someone, and the power consumed him… _'No, Natsu couldn't have succumbed to the power, he is standing right in front of me…'_

"It was odd at first. It didn't look like the kind of book I should share with anyone. I had never seen a book like this before, let alone read the words on the cover… then Levy came back from her job, and could only read the words "Dragon", and "Fire" after she swore to confidentiality. So, I took the book back and brushed up on my Dragon Words… and the book opened."

Gildarts took a step backward. He was intent on showing Natsu fear, so that he could progress as a wizard, and a person. Never did he the fight would go like this. He steeled himself, he heard what the Primals could do, from times immemorial. There were tales of a time when the Ice Primal went berserk, and the world experienced an ice age. Not many people survived.

"Anyway, the books history isn't important right now… What is important though, is me passing this trial." Natsu's smile disappeared in an instant. His voice became dark and gravelly.

" **Dovah Rot: Yolos Kopraan** "

Power surged throughout the room, however it was not from Gildarts. It was from Natsu. His body became living flame, a multitude of colours. There was a white flame in the center of his being, then an yellow flame, then an orange flame, then a crimson flame. They danced inside him as if they had always been there.

"Natsu…." Gildarts started, he had half mind to pass Natsu right here, but he knew the brat wouldn't accept this win. If Natsu wanted a fight, a fight he would get.

"The first page in the book has an interesting section about the Primals you know Gildarts… maybe I'll tell you about it once I've beaten you."

Natsu charged, his inner fire becoming outer fire, scorching the cavern floor as he ran. He threw a punch, and Gildarts dodged left.

Gildarts held his palm up and magic exploded from it, forcing Natsu backwards.

"Why hide it Natsu? Why hide it until now?"

"Because it would be irresponsible of me if I charged in everywhere, claiming I was the embodiment of fire. It would put the other three in danger… and that's" he threw his head back. "something I can't do! **Primal Fire Dragon's ROAR** "

The flame was unbearable for Happy. Gildarts was only just able to keep a straight face when faced with this much power. He was having too much fun. The smile turned into a frown. _'How much does he really know about the Primals... He should know that to keep the world in balance, he needs to be near his opposite element… and how long has he known?'_

Gildarts was pushed to the edge of the room.

"That's enough Natsu, you've proven yourself in the power department." Gildarts started, as Natsu started to dance. "But there is another part to being S Class that you need to take into consideration, a thing that up until today I thought you lacked. Tell me Natsu, what is fear?"

Natsu tilted his head to the side. "Fear? Fear is something that you feel when you are scared. You of all people already know this, but I'm afraid of being alone. I'm afraid of being shunned. But fear is also something you feel when you know you cannot do something you said you could."

"A decent answer, but no." Gildarts started to unleash all his magic power. The air in the cave stilled as rocks started floating.

"Fear, is something you feel when you are faced with an unstoppable force, or an invincible wall. However Natsu, fear is not evil. Remember that."

Natsu, normally would have been brought to his knees with the amount of power in this small space. It felt like gravity had collapsed in on itself, and was forcing everything down. But Natsu was used to this amount of power, holding the amount himself right now.

"Either way, you pass my test. You should come over some time, we'll have a proper fight. But promise me something Natsu…" Gildarts said, as he looked at Natsu, who was still in his fire form.

 _"Do not give in to the power."_


End file.
